Improvement sn expelling oil from the vesns of wells



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC RELF, OF MINA, NEW YORK.

lNlPROVEMENT lhl EXPELLJNG OIL. FROM THE VElNS OF WELLS..

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,922, dated September 1'?, F05.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC RELF, of Mina, in the county of Chau tauqua and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Opening the "Veins of Oil-Wells; and I do hereby/declare thatlthe tbllowing is a full,

clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to fully understand and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specitication.

The drawing, consisting of only -one figure, represents the device which is the subject oi' this application. l i f This invention has for its object openin g' the veins and crevices of oil-wells by forcing the water and other liquids which are in the well into the said veins and crevices, and thereby removing the obstructions thereout, so as to permit Ythe gases and oil to resume their iiow into the well..

Wells of petroleum or rock-oil have up to this time exhibited the phenomenon ofrunning freely of their own accord, or else yielding large quantities when the pump is applied, for a considerable period of time, some continuing to yield large quantities of oil for more than two years, when, as a general thing, they begin to fail, and soon become entirely dry, or yield so little as no longer to pay the expense of pumping. Several explanations have been offered by way of accounting for this phenomenon in oilwells, and that which seems to be the most reasonable, and to agree the most nearly with the nature and properties of the oil and the character ot' the rocks from which it hows, is that a residuum of the oil or paraflline gradually tills and obstructs theveins and crevices which are intersected by a well and prevents the tlow of oil, or even of gas, through them, Nhen an abandoned well suddenly begins to ilow again spontaneonslyitissupposed that the pressure through the veins and crevices has been sufficient to remove these obstructions. When a newly-made well does not yield any oil .with `the aid of the pump, or yields it in small quantities, the same theorists suppose that its veins and crevices have become clogged with the pulveriaed rock produced by the drill, which acts like a hammer upon the mass and forces it laterally into the veins and crevices, thereby choking the well throughout its whole extent. This action of the drill will attend those which are hollow, and which are designed to take up therock as fast as it is out, but not in so great a degree as those drills which are solid.

These explanations of the reasons why some wells cease to flow and why some newly-made wells remain dry from the first seem to me to be reasonable; and my invention has for its object to clearsnch supposed obstructions from the wells, whether they consist of paraine or other residuum ot the oil, or of a deposit of any other character, or in -accre'tions of the dbris and dust of the rock forced into the veins and crevices by the action of the drill.

B represents the lower part of a well, whose sides are shown seamed with the supposed veins and erevices in the roch, as seen at a.

O is a plunger or piston, made of wood in v this example of my invention, say one foot long, more or less, and .which may bewell protected on its lower end by iron or other metal; but I have shown it without any such protection.

D is a rod which passes centrally through it, and upon which the piston is secured by nuts e e above and below. The piston has two or more passages out through it, which are closed at bottom by valves d, which open downward.

The rod D may be ot' wood or of metal, but l prefer wood because of its lightness; and it may be made in sections of iitteen feet in length united byscrew-couplin gs or otherwise.

Havingremoved the well-tube from the well, I lower the piston C into it until it reaches the water or other iluid in the well. The top of the rod D must project above the surface of the earth a sufficient distance to receive a cap, which is to be made strongenoughv to sustain heavy blows from a maui, or from the monkey of a pile-driver. The rod D, where it project-s above the surface, should be held between snitable guides, so that the blows upon its cap may be delivered in a vertical direction.

l have not shown a cap on the tcp of the rod, nor any devices for striking it with a man1 or other means, since such devices can be easilyV 2 einem made by skillful` mechanics with out any particular description being here given, and I do lnel; claim anything in them specially.

C lhe effect of the blows 'delivered on the top 'of the rod will be to force the Water in the well into its veins and crevices, and so open them for the flow of oil from the surrounding rock.

The piston. U is, of greater diameter at its top and bottom than along its sides between its ends, vso as to enable it' to be moved within the well with little friction. Its diameter at its ends is to be such as to enable it almost to fill the well' it is to be used in. Wells are drilled of varying diameters, and the pistons will vary in `diameter with the diameters of the wells, and as their sides are smooth they will 'permittheeasymovementsof thepiston within them.

Whein it is desired to raise the piston from the well the water above it will pass down through the passages c and through their 'valves d,- and thus relieve thev piston end rod ot' the'weight of the water above it. Theefl'ect ot' a blow upon the rod will be much greater, and be more likely to cause the disruption and displacement of the obstructions which close the veins, than a steady pressure.

-pressnre which would be applied were the piston moved in the ordinary manner. would not; e'ect the result.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- Forcing the liquid in an oil or other well into the veins and crevices thereof by means of blows and concussions, as and for the purposes described. l

ISAAC RELF.

Witnesses: v

M. M. LIVINGSTON, J AMES P. HALL. 

